


Choices

by Kissa



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Childhood, Gen, baby Jace Wayland, early memory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:20:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27414142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kissa/pseuds/Kissa
Summary: Valentine finds a mommy-for-hire for baby Jace.
Relationships: Valentine Morgenstern & Jace Wayland
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Choices

**Author's Note:**

> Valentine with a baby? How did that even work? I figured, in order to take a lot, you have to give a lot first, so if Valentine wanted his pet angel experiment to work, he would have to give Jace the best starting point. Someone as twisted and as abusive as him would surely know that in order to enslave someone, you have to make them depend on you for their emotional wellbeing and then slowly chip away at it by taking more and more of the things they earned until they start to associate their own happiness and sense of worth with pleasing you.
> 
> There is none of that in this fic though. For now, Jace is a cute, well behaved baby that even Valentine finds easy to love.

The woman takes the seat the man offers her.  
  
They are meeting in a bistro, over croissants and coffee, to discuss the possibility of her working for the man.  
  
A single father with very long work hours, the ad said.  
  
A very handsome and charming man, she thinks, watching him fuss over the child, who is otherwise very well behaved, not dropping his toys and not screaming as two year olds are known to do, especially when adults are trying to have a conversation in public.  
  
“I just want him to have the best care, Florence. The agency said you were the best. What do you say?”  
  
“As you know, I have all the time in the world and I don’t work with several children at a time. Jonathan would have all my care and attention. But, like I said on the phone, you have to bring him to and pick him up from my place. It looks and feels like a real home, something he is going to need if he’s going to grow up well-adjusted. You said his mother died giving birth to him, which tells me he hasn’t felt much love in his little life. We need to fix that, so he doesn’t grow into some monster.”  
  
“Absolutely. I want Jonathan to have every chance in life. Money is no issue. All I ask is that you do not put him on social media and do not give details about him to your relatives and friends. They will surely want to know the story behind him.”  
  
“Oh he is really special, I can see it already. It seems we have a deal, Mr. Wayland.” The woman, Florence, says and she and the man shake hands.  
  
She reaches over to the child, petting his soft golden hair gently.  
  
“He’s so well behaved. Let’s encourage that. What a little angel.”  
  
“Oh, Florence, you have no idea.”  
  
Once Florence leaves, the man starts patiently feeding the child some croissant filled with cheese.  
  
“Jonathan, we found you a mommy. A nice mundane lady who will love you like you need to be so you can grow up strong, until it’s time to start your training. I think you’re going to like being at her place a lot.”  
  
The waitress, who comes to refill his coffee and to bring a small box of macarons for the child, can’t stop herself from flirting with the man, trying to start a conversation from having noticed the child’s beautiful mismatched eyes.  
  
“Did you see that, Jonathan? Everyone loves you. How could they not? You are going to be my greatest achievement yet.”  
  
The child seems pretty unimpressed with the women fussing around them. Women are always drawn to Father and him. For now, he has more pressing concerns. 

He looks at the small box of treats the waitress brought.  
  
“Open, please.” He asks the man.  
  
Valentine opens the box, which is too solid of a seal for small toddler hands, and lets Jonathan pick a pink macaron from inside.  
  
Jonathan doesn’t have many teeth yet, and the macaron might be a bit of a challenge to munch on, and for a second he considers helping him by breaking it in smaller pieces.  
  
He stops, though, when he sees Jonathan ponder over the cutlery for a moment, then pick up a dessert fork and cut the macaron into small pieces that he can enjoy.   
  
“Clever boy!” he praises, feeling his chest swell with pride.  
  
He’s going to raise his adopted son away from the Clave and their rules, and Jonathan is going to be so flawless, so superior, his very existence will rewrite history and undermine the Clave’s authority in an epic, unprecedented way. 


End file.
